---
title: Does estradiol level affect how women respond to stress? | Niyora
description: Yes, women with high estradiol levels showed smaller stress responses in the brain and reported less emotional distress when exposed to a stressful task, comp
url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/estradiol-levels-modulate-brain-activity-and-negative-responses-to-psychosocial-2015/
---

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- Does estradiol level affect how women respond to stress?

Survey study, 2015

# Does estradiol level affect how women respond to stress?

Yes, women with high estradiol levels showed smaller stress responses in the brain and reported less emotional distress when exposed to a stressful task, compared to women with low estradiol levels.

 Moderate study design

28 healthy women with normal menstrual cycles

## What they did

Study of 28 healthy women examined during high or low estradiol phases of their menstrual cycle. All were exposed to a stressful mental task while brain activity was measured through imaging, and mood was assessed through self-report.

## What they found

Women with high estradiol levels showed less brain activation in emotion-related brain regions during stress and reported less emotional distress compared to women with low estradiol levels.

## What it means for you

Estradiol may protect against stress responses during certain phases of the menstrual cycle, suggesting women may be more vulnerable to stress during low estradiol phases. However, this is a small study and findings are from healthy women.

28

healthy women studied

2

menstrual cycle phases compared

## About the study

Original title Estradiol levels modulate brain activity and negative responses to psychosocial stress across the menstrual cycle Authors Albert K, Pruessner J, Newhouse P Journal Psychoneuroendocrinology Year 2015 Study design Survey study What was tested None - observational study comparing cycle phases Open access Yes Read the paper [doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.04.022](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.04.022)

## Topics

[Menstrual cycle and mood](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-cycle-mood/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)[Anxiety disorders and OCD](https://niyora.com/research/topics/comorbidity-anxiety-disorders/)

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